From oneandother

For 100 days since the middle of July, members of the public have been occupying the plinth for 1 hour each, 24h a day, come rain or shine as part of Anthony Gormley's One&Other Project. They are chosen by a draw from those who had applied to be part of the project. What you do on the plinth is entirely up to you, as long as it is legal. The project will provide not just a piece of art but also a social record of our society in 2009.

With around 30000 applying for 2400 places, I thought it was worth joining. The August and September draws came and I was unsuccessful. Resigned, I was therefore surprised to have a call a couple of hours after the September draw results asking
"We have a slot free on the Plinth. It's at 2am on 16th Sept are you interested?"
"YES!!!" was my resounding exhilarated reply!

Full article with what Chris did on the Plinth here

I'm still on a high after receiving my mail from the Open University with the results of the assessment after the 10 week digital photography course. I passed with Excellent as the performance in visual Awareness, Technical Quality and the written component.

I took the course because, although I had acquired a lot of practical photography experience and skills, including digital photoediting and photography throught the microscope, I wanted to ensure that my skills were actually up to scratch.

I can thoroughly recommend this distance learning course to anybody at any skill level. There were Photoshop tips and workflows useful even to the professional.  You are provided with training materials and photo-editing software. One of the best features is that you become part of a greater online student community, sharing your pictures and experiences.

Visit the OU course details at  http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?C01T189

At around 5pm, a tweet (a message broadcast through Twitter) from Stephen Fry alerted all online at the time of a live Twitter session occuring to accompany the BBC Radio 4 programme  Analysis; Clever.Com, at 8:30pm. The programme looked at the pros and cons of the internet and social networking on the brains and development of the younger generation.

I learnt something new, that you could use a hashtag address to partake in a common discussion, (see video by Mari Smith at http://bit.ly/18vwxK) onTwitter, in this instance the tag was #goodradioclub. Another useful online page called TweetChat allowed you to follow the conversations as they happened.

A trickle of messages started in the half hour up to the programme and rapidly turned into a flood as the programme itself got underway.

The overall message of the programme was that those born into the digital age were just shallow skimmers of information, hopping from site to site on the web and therefore unlikely to to develop the clear reasoning skills of us older generations who had learnt about libraries and writing proper!

Stephen Fry gave a robust and positive message, that actually, people were empowered by the increased access to information and that indeed books and the internet could coexist.

The twitterati too treated the underlying message, that our brains were being turned to much by this newfangled technology, with a healthy degree of scepticism. In fact, the wider spread of opinion and evidence from a broad panel of participants as we furiously bashed out our tweets, revealed the limitations of a voice programme, which had obviously been carefully choreographed with a trend to its own conclusions.

Indeed, my overiding impression was one of fast and furiuos action/ reaction as the twitterati had to listen, read other tweets and respond. My contribution was predominantly reactive with counterarguments or comments to the speakers thoughts and it was only after the show had finished that the pace slowed down sufficiently to reply to other responses.

My own personal opinion, from being internet ready myself, having two teenage children and experiencing this event was, that the issue of shallow skimming was a superficial response to the reality. We live in an information age, bombarded and able to access fields of knowledge that are exponentially greater than those even a few years ago.

As in life throughout humanity we skim the surface of our existence for most of the time and only drill down or notice detailed information when it is of particular relevance to us. We now have more information to sift for usefulness and therefore browse more visibly. But when we really really want information, we can drill down quite deeply.

Perhaps the one thing we should do as a society is to accept that there is an unimaginable wealth of information out there. What is important is to develop our critical and analytical processes so that we can use it effectively.

Chris won the Inspirational Speech  Club Competition with Huntingdonshire Speakers last week! Effective presentations are a vital component of any business development - fortunately, they can also be fun and Huntingdonshire Speakers has been a regular event in Chris's activities. Part of Toastmasters International, there is the added benefit if being able to find a friendly group to visit when travelling anywhere in the World.

Huntingdonshire Speakers, a relatively new club, hope to be  chartered soon. In this case, Chris willl be able to go forward to the divisional competition, to compete against a further 5 clubs.

A fortuitious meeting with Radio Cambridgeshire in Huntingdon, at which I invited them to HBN to hear some positive messages about the economy in this time of recession. Our comments made it to the Andie Harper Show the following week and I was invited to comment live over the phone and anser questions.

You can listen to a compilation of the recordings at the internet archive.

The follwoing articles also relate to the event:

BBC drops by

Key points on what networking is and why to do it

HBN Radio Interviews

Most of the time, a bed is a welcome place of rest, which has it’s pleasurable and more energetic interludes too! for those who are bedridden through illness or old age, it can become a lethal last resting space. Prolonged pressure on parts of the body cuts off blood supplies and results in bed sores that can rapidly lead to complications if not treated.
When I accompanied Bernd Mahnke, of Care Concept Mahnke, around the country last week, he was showing UK companies a compact solution for intensive care wards and nursing homes alike, his radical pressure mattress.

Pressure mattresses have been around for a while. They are essentially hi-tech air-beds in which individual compartments are continually cycled through inflation and deflation to ensure that all parts of the body in contact with a mattress are relieved of pressure for a period to prevent bed sores.

Care Concept’s mattress arose out of the frustration that Bernd and his colleagues experienced when servicing existing models, where long trip-hazard cabling, external and unreliable pumps and low cost materials often meant that a pressure mattress had a very limited life span.

Using his experience and feedback from care personnel, he built a company that constructed a more user friendly and reliable item out of high quality materials, easily disinfected, with top of the range silent and reliable pumps hidden within the mattress itself. A simple, robust, user-friendly hand-held control is used to regulate the mattress which, as Bernd demonstrated, can be easily transported (in a golf bag!), inflated and in use within minutes.
The market for pressure mattresses is driven, like many markets, by price, so we were greeted with a degree of healthy scepticism by the UK companies we visited! However, all were complimentary once the mattress was demonstrated.

It says something about the mutual understanding of the problems underlying an essential piece of highly designed equipment, that the UK hosts did not just express their feelings on the suitability of the device. They also volunteered technical advice and shared their experience of the UK market, with suggestions of minor modifications and adaptations for even greater acceptance to the UK end user - whether the UK company was interested in taking on Bernd’s product into their portfolio or not.

Bernd left, having gained significant interest from some of the UK hosts and with more UK specific market experience to allow the continued development and improvement of an already commercial model. By acting both as Bernd’s voice and complementing his technical expertise, I and Milton Contact gained further insight into another medical device sector, applications and solutions.

For more information on Care Concept Mahnke’s pressure mattress system, visit http://www.careconcept-mahnke.de/ or get in touch with the author on 01223 440024.

Dr Chris Thomas,
Director, Milton Contact Ltd

“Bon Dia” was the greeting on my lips as joined the ERBI companies meeting with the visiting Catalonian Bioregion Medtech and Biopharma companies in the Nucleus Centre of Chesterford Research Park. The 16 or so Catalonians had come hotfoot from London to meet with about 20 Cambridge representatives; from NHS link in Health Enterprise East via Patent attorneys to Biosensors. My first tea was spent in amiable conversation with Irene Laroy, of CRIC - who produce hand held diagnostic devises, before we were drawn into the meeting itself.



Marta Princeps of BioCat Bioregion Catalonia gave us a comprehensive introduction to the growing Bio Sector in her region in excellent English as “no ho entenc Català” (I do not understand Catalan). The strengths were pharmaceutical production, a dedicated base of 60 totally biotech companies and a functional network of hospitals with 31000 doctors and 3000 researchers that makes clinical trialling a strength for the region. Major players such as Pfizer, GSK, Roche and Novartis all have a presence in Catalonia.

So far, Catalonia, with a major Biotech nucleus of companies around Gaudi’s Barcelona, was bucking the current economic trend with continued growth in the sector. This did not mean that it was all plain sailing. Three themes emerged in the following “round table” discussion intiated by Jeanette Walker, the ERBI host, involving Cambridge and Catalan representatives.

First, there was the difficulty in bridging the gap between academia and business.

Second was the funding gap for Catalan companies wishing to progress beyond their initial seedcorn finance (accompanied by much sympathetic nodding by Cambridge delegates finding a common situation mirrored!)
Third, a potential opportunity for access to entrepreneurial advice from Cambridge’s rich bank of experienced CEOs.

Stimulated by ideas and potentials we drifted out to network by the buffet. My partners in conversation ranged from Jordi Roma, whose company Simbec has a guaranteed income from licensing out pharmaceutical formulations, neatly sidestepping some of the major funding headaches; to Sonal Naik of Carbogen Amcis and Daniele Dovera of Dishman where we covered the increasing success of Indian companies in Europe. Ignasi Belda (Intelligent Pharma), Pablo Rebollo (BAP Health Outcomes), Mariola Mier Pérez (MicroArt) and Susan Aldridge (writing for Genetic Engineering and Biotech News) added to the informative mix of conversation.

For my interest in Biotech/Pharma/Medtech and assisting companies wishing to penetrate the UK, the three crucial contacts of the day were obviously Marta Princeps (BioCat), Juan Román of Health Enterprise East and Michael O’Neill of Eolas. Michael was accompanying the group on their travels and created a great impression by talking Hindi and Italian to relevant guests. Our conversation somehow drifted to the more mundane questions of the transition of the Celtic alphabet from its Greek lettering origins to the present Latin based alphabet at the time of the Normans!

It was then time for Adéu, wishing the Catalans “Bona Sort” (good luck) as they set out to their next destination, Dublin.

Dr Chris Thomas
Milton Contact Ltd.

PS. For those interested in the history, language and location of Catalonia – see Wikipedia, starting at the History of the Països Catalans, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Catalonia

I attended the Bench2Boardroom 2008 for the first time this year at short notice, representing some German Biotech companies, and enjoyed the benefits of five different and complementary aspects of the event.

Coming in from the gloom of a rainy Wednesday morning, I entered the main hall at the delightfully unique Chilford Hall Vineyard to find a bustle of activity as delegates thronged, chatted and gazed at the exhibits. Taking a deep breath, I plunged in and almost immediately hit upon the first benefit – Networking.

In addition to the pleasure of catching up with existing contacts, such as Barbara Nasto, there was the enjoyment of meeting new ones. Having booked to late to take advantage of prearranged one2one meetings, these often turned out to be serendipitous conversations at a stand (Jane Knott, Norwich Research Park Enterprise), over coffee (David Latto, Oxford Gene Technology)  or at the buffet (Nick Gough, Cranfield University).

Of the Presentations (benefit no 2), I was interested in the Biomarkers session. Arriving somewhat late, I had a somewhat embarrassing entry to the event! Flummoxed by the apparent absence of an entry into the room, Jeff Solomon came to my aid. The door latch had jammed, effectively imprisoning the attendees already there and preventing others from getting in. We put our shoulders to the door and battled with the jammed latch whilst Penny Wilson, the moderator inside, similarly tried to help, until we burst in with the gaze of a now intent and curious audience upon us.

Penny calmly resumed coaxing elements and concerns affecting the biomarkers sector from the group. Two key aspects emerged; first, bridging the funding gap between the pure research to identify potential biomarkers and near market development of a commercial product and second, the need for a common forum to ensure better standardisation of samples and greater lobbying for biomarkers funding. We concluded with Penny gathering contacts and support towards a future provision of standard samples.

It was now time for a walk around the exhibits (benefit 3). It may surprise some to know that good product stands are not just there to ram their brands down your throat. The often postdoc level representatives have a wealth of experience, knowledge and contacts that they are happy to share. Initially, I fondly reminisced over Western blotters, microfuges and latex gloves – recalling those halcyon days in the lab, when life was great when the experiments were working and black with despair when they didn’t.  Letting curiosity get the better of me, I also engaged in a fascinating conversation on design with Director Danny Godfrey of eg technology. This then extended to the industry needs and characteristics sought in future employees coming out of academia when Jonathan Rand, research associate from Newcastle University researching the subject, joined us.

Tim Cheeseright of Cresset introduced me to a paradigm shift in looking at ligand interactions with binding sites; by looking at the shape and location of charged areas, it was possible to seek similarly functional ligands from often disparate chemical structures. On a practical level, talks with Jonathan Betts, of Sciencewarehouse, revealed a centralised purchasing solution that could also be applicable to one of my non-science company contacts.

Enough food for the mind, the body also needed sustenance, neatly bringing us to benefit 4 – the catering. Excellent is all I can say! You nibble at the coffee and tea breaks on buiscuits and more and plunge into the buffet with a wide variety of canapés, sandwiches and kebabs for the gourmet to the glutton. Most inspired however, was booking Toni’s ice-cream to dish out cornets in a multitude of flavours when all the verbal hot air had raised the room temperature (mine’s a rum and raisin).

Suitably refreshed, it was on to the workshops (benefit 5)! Surprisingly, the functional genomics table only had three participants. However, once my two other colleagues and established the travels and myriad social contacts that they shared, we not only discussed the current technologies and solutions for genomics currently available, we also moved on to proteomics, which was of additional interest to me with regards to my clients. Generally, workshops were well attended and I certainly benefitted from the two I managed to join.

I departed Bench2Boardroom well connected, more informed and better fed than at the start of the day! My recommendation for next year? Book earlier to also take advantage of pre-arranged one2one meetings.

Dr Chris Thomas
Director, Milton Contact Ltd

If you have an interest collaboration with one of two German companies experienced in proteomics/peptide library screening and enzyme discovery, optimisation and expression – please get in touch with me on 01223 440024 or chris@miltoncontact.com

Meeting Report 05.08.08

How would you feel if your landlord could come into your house and any time to search through all your belongings and use the information gained for their own benefit?

That is what you are permitting when utilising some of the convenient sites provided by some of the major internet players. One can almost hear “Thanks for telling me who your friends and contacts are! What sites are you visiting? Oh yes and what was that you bought yesterday? - Nice track, maybe you would like more from the same artist? ” and so on.

We currently accept this in return for the benefits we gain. We even exploit it ourselves when optimising websites. However, there is an increasing trend to have on-line writing, spreadsheet and presentation programmes, even file sharing for collaboration. Do we as businesses want others to also be able to access these and utilise some of the information for their own purposes - or would we rather have control of our own data?

To find out more about how this might be countered, I joined an information sharing and brainstorming meeting at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge (http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/pages/the-college.php) at the invitation of fellow HBN member Dr Jo Stanley, expert in Intellectual Property (IP) issues. As usual, I was wearing three hats – interested individual, my company Milton Contact Ltd (www.miltoncontact.com, www.miltoncontact.co.uk) and active member of the Huntingdonshire Business Network (www.hbn.org.uk).

Professor Paul Krause of the University of Surrey (http://www.cs.surrey.ac.uk/profiles?s_id=2013
) gave a brief overview of the ethos and aims of a European wide project involving “Digital Ecosystems”, a term that had piqued my curiosity but otherwise meant little to me prior to the meeting. The other two attendees apart from Jo and myself were Amir Razari, the researcher working on the project, well informed and with a streak of humour glinting in his eyes, and Will Spinner, Principal Economic Regeneration Officer of the Peterborough Regional Economic Partnership (http://www.prep-peterborough.org/). Will was keen to find out if “Digital Ecosystems” could provide a means to a addressing both Peterboroughs ambition to improve its business ranking as a UK city and address the social issues that exist.

In an attempt to level the playing field, Digital Ecosystems have been one of the elements being developed within a Framework 6 European Commission R&D research program called REDEN (Regions for Digital Ecosytems Network - http://reden.opaals.org/doc/reden-mission-draft.pdf) and is now fully supported by the OPAALS network of Excellence (http://www.opaals.org/).
Harking back to the original idea behind making the internet available to all, the basic principle is to provide open sourced web based flexible tools that allow sharing of information between individuals, groups or regions by having a common http interface, to stimulate a knowledge based economy in the EU .

In simple terms, for example, all you would need is an internet browser - to securely access and share documents, spreadsheets, presentations and data without hidden restrictions or unwanted access to your data.

I say “for example” as the end user applications are deliberately left vague, for good reason. The idea is not to be prescriptive but to provide basic tools and networking ability and allow the users to evolve systems that work for them (hence the Digital Ecosystems in the project title). Users could be groups of like-minded individuals, collaborating SMEs or even geographic regions.
The hope is that these tools will act as seeds for major paradigm shifts in social or economic activity. Just think of the success and social impact of texting, which arose unexpectedly from the use of a simple service utility left over in mobile phones in high technology culture Japan, when only telephony was the original intention; of Mobile phone communication providing a giant leap over the limits of land line telephony in Africa.

From a small business perspective, I could appreciate the potential benefits. I'm acutely aware of the impact of large commercial players locking you into their systems – most businesses use a Microsoft Windows operating system (96% in 2006) and Office for routine activities; Graphic design is dominated by Adobe Illustrator; PayPal is the first simple assistance for financial transactions that comes to mind and I am sure you can think of others. Furthermore, there are not only cost implications with their use, but also a regular need for updates, or even more frustratingly, changes in operating systems that dramatically curtail the previous accessibility of other software you are using or just require valuable time for re-familiarisation. 90% of businesses are micro-businesses of 1-5 employees and especially at start-up, the financial and time burden of existing systems can be disproportionately large in their impact
Collaboration and communication tools are also important to me as an active networker with both local and international contacts. It is now hard to imagine working without Windows Live Messenger, Skype, Google as current communication tools for voice, text, images and data.
As Paul's talk progressed, I therefore began to grasp the concept and see the benefits of commonly accessible, open sourced, online or peer to peer networked systems that only required an internet browser and were otherwise independent of the operating system (Windows, Mac, Linus) on individual terminals.

Will was keen to understand how a digital ecosystem could bring benefits to Peterborough. Peterborough is a city with excellent infrastructure links to the road and rail arteries of the UK and situated close to the manufacturing and industrial centre of the Midlands. Strengths include food production & processing, environment and advanced engineering. However the labour market affected by an increase in elementary occupations; skills attainment was still below the national average and the absence of higher education facilities hampered the local R&D and technology base resulting in few high-tech start-ups (Peterborough sub-regional economic strategy - http://consult.peterborough.gov.uk/portal/planning/peterborough/cs/cspo?pointId=36413). It was going to take decades to build up the necessary physical infrastructure in the form of a local university and provide incubators for new businesses with space for them to grow.
The brainstorming began. Two main themes became apparent offering applicability of digital ecosystems to Peterboroughs unique challenges.

1.Enabling communication: With the near ubiquity of broadband and mobile access to the internet, physical proximity of businesses or individuals became less of an issue. There is already a growing familiarity of social networking via the web, particularly amongst the younger generation. Providing knowledge and lo-cost materials, a range of target groups could be given access to Peterborough based open sourced network tools. Whether Hi-Tech entrepreneurs, students, parents taking maternity or paternity leave, disadvantaged groups - the principle would be “here's a set of tools that allow you to communicate with like minded people – now see how you can adapt and use them to fulfil your needs (and discover new ones and their solutions!)”.
2.Fostering innovation and ideas: Following on from point 1, Communication is an excellent breeding ground for innovation, whether at the intellectual level regarding cutting edge science, finding complementary skills and synergies in business or simply discovering a new need that you can or could answer with your idea, product or service.

The meeting concluded with a clear intention to explore a practical demonstration project in setting up a digital ecosystem in Peterborough. There would be mutual benefit to the City, in attempting to address at least one of the Peterborough sub-regional partnership objectives, and to the researchers by providing a UK applied system that would enhance the REDEN project.
Milton Contact would continue to be involved either as an interested company or (more usefully) as link or facilitator able to access the networking & collaboration skills of partner businesses through Huntingdonshire Business Network (HBN) members active in the region and internationally.

Chris Thomas
Director, Milton Contact Ltd.

Photo: Tulip tree leaf from Lucy Cavendish College by www.miltoncontact.com. The tulip tree is a native of North Americal, cultivated as an ornamental tree. The leaves are distinctive and timber, known as white wood, is used for house interiors in the US.

This article was written using the open source Writer of OpenOffice.org.

contacts regarding information arising from this article:

Dr Chris Thomas, Milton Contact Ltd/HBN T: 01223 440024 E: chris@miltoncontact.com
Dr Jo Stanley, Lucy Cavendish/HBN T: 01223 332190 E: js731@cam.ac.uk
Professor Paul Krause & Amir Razari, University of Surrey T: 01483 689861 E: p.krause@surrey.ac.uk
Will Spinner, Peterborough City Council T: 01733 742668 E: will.spinner@peterborough.gov.uk

for those of us with a research background, we know that the success of our work resides in attention to detail and rigourous recording of data, based on a keen knowledge of underlying principles. It was therefore with pleasure - and some trepidation when Heather Maunders, scientist turned artist asked me to provide her with basis of a new website design to display her work that she could continue to develop herself (see www.heathermaunders.com for the completed site).

Whilst the finished project gives some indication of her skills, the original artwork has to be seen to be really appreciated and the opportunity to do so exists over the next few weekends as Heather exhibits as part of the well established and renowned annual Cambridge Open Studios.

Last year, Heather exchanged the laboratory for a studio, so that she could, as an already successful painter, develop her ideas further. Having lived near Ely in Cambridgeshire for 18 years, her flower garden inspired much of Heather's work. Whether botanically accurate or in a more relaxed style, Observing flora's bold intensity of colour, sensuous rhythms created by movement or their ephemeral nature as they develop, mature and die provides limitless scope to produce vibrant and striking images.Equally at home with ink, pencil and acrylic, Heather's preferred medium is watercolour - because of its versatility, allowing different approaches from delicate transparency to bold layers of colour for impact.

The lure of Cambridge Open Studios is the direct interaction with the visiting public - a welcome adrenaline rush for any artist otherwise working in isolation for most of the time. Indeed it has also bitten a fellow Huntingdonshire Business Network member, Geertje Anderson. Geertje has been designing interiors since the early 1980's, although her interest and passion for design started long before. Being one of eleven children and coming from a creative family, she experienced designing, building and decorating from a very early age and, as a result, combined with professional training, interior design has become 'second nature'. The designer's eye is also revealed through her other passion, natural photography.

I'm giving exhibiting my own artwork and photography a miss this year, but I must also mention neighbour and friend, Alison Hullyer (http://www.hullyer.co.uk), who is now exhibiting for her 13th consecutive year. Alison is a successful freelance artist, illustrator and printmaker, working in the village of Milton near Cambridge, England. She uses various techniques in her work including pen and ink, oils and watercolours; Alison also uses and demonstrated some printmaking methods such as collography and dry-point.

At the recent Annual Greater Cambridge Partnership meeting, the creative sector in our regions was identified as the next skills area to be supported and developed in out region.

If you want to see the potential, then the next four weekends in July provide an unparalelled opportunity to visit up to 300 local artists in their studios; from amateurs exhibiting for the first time to renowned artists in their field.

Visit the Cambridge Open Studios website at http://www.camopenstudios.co.uk/ or pick up a local brochure to find out more.

Chris Thomas
Director Milton Contact Ltd
(online gallery at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/miltoncontact)

Enabling communication within a company, between companies and internationally through interpersonal

skills, text and images.

Arriving in the Cambridge tradition on a bike at the Trinity Centre proved a good choice as, by then, even a TATA economy car could not have found a parking space for the well attended Cambridge Network “THINKindia” Open Meeting after the start of registration.

Over 100 delegates packed into the seminar room for a relaxed and assured 10 minute presentation by Neal Ghandi (CEO, Quickstart Global) and the fact-packed keynote speech by Peter Luff MP (Mid Worcestershire, special interest in India), delivered with the increasing pace of an accelerating high speed steam locomotive.

The presentations were scene setters for the Q&A session where the expert panel debating audience questions also included Sharon Bamford (CEO, UK India Business Council), Ian Gomes (Chairman of the New and Emerging Markets Practice, KPMG), Bob Hoekstra (Founder & Director of Palindrome Technology Solutions) and Thak Patel (CEO, THINKindia). Peter Hewkin (CEO, Cambridge Network) acted as an effective moderator, resulting in a wide ranging discussion.

Three different strands emerged from the evening’s debates; opportunities, opposites and solution providers.

 

Economic opportunities for UK companies in India

The Indian elephant has gathered apace as a trillion dollar economy willing to flex its muscle internationally, becoming the second largest investors in London. Even UK trade unions welcome the influx of major Indian owners, for example with TATA acquiring Landrover and Jaguar for just under £1.5bn. Its price competitiveness is here to stay for at least the next decade and with the more familiar commonalities of democracy and a shared English language, will soon no longer be obscured by its Chinese dragon rival.

With the increasing purchasing power of the Indian middle class, the rapid growth has opened opportunities for UK companies within the Indian market over a range of sectors. With 10 000 mobiles sold per hour in the country, of which 18% are luxury models, to finance, property and automotive; from leading in renewables such as wind energy (1730 MW capacity) to electronic point of sale solutions (EPOS) for retailers. The demand for IT outstrips local capability so that even with the acknowledge strength of India in this sector, there is capacity for external players.

A country of opposites

The rise in affluence and being a leading player in the modern economies is contrasted with the isolation and abject poverty still present in rural areas. Times of rapid change can also harbour future turmoil as the brash message of a modern bling and excessive consumption is portrayed as an aspiration via the media to those who cannot yet afford it. The success of the economy relies on highly trained and qualified workers and yet of the 10 million new entrants to work only 10% have any vocational training. There is a great need for local education and health solutions to ensure that the benefits of the new economy will spread inclusively.

An unexpected consequence of the constant growth is the continued need for local retail solutions. One audience member asked about the likelihood of the internet negating the local retail sector and we were given a graphic illustration on how there were very few clear postal addresses; “Apartment in flats located behind Sainsbury, off a street near High street” being a transliteration of a hypothetical equivalent in the UK. Growth was so rapid that within a short time infrastructure could change, making a location unrecognisable. Only retailers with local knowledge could adapt and respond in this environment.

The solution providers

Contrasts also existed between a governmental regulatory philosophy and the attitude of business.

Byzantine, changing and often incomprehensible regulatory hurdles faced incoming businesses, impeding investment, cash flow, production and delivery of goods even within India. This contrasted with the confidence of business and a “Can do” attitude that would find solutions to surmount the hurdles or, as in the case of IT, bound into new markets unforeseen and untouched by bureaucracy.
For any UK business wishing to enter the market, it is therefore imperative to gain access to local partners and knowledge to navigate market entry successfully and profitably.

Solutions to the economic and social disparities were also less likely to be found in time through a legislature, as these always have difficulty keeping up with the speed of progress, never mind the accelerated pace at which India is progressing. Business was seen as one potential driver for change in these areas.

Turmoil and large contrasts are the seedbed of inventiveness and paradigm shifts. To my mind it seems that, like the impact of mobile phone technology on the African continent which provides a radical solution to the need for communication, there will be one or a series of catalytic, uniquely Indian solutions developed on the ground. It could even be something as basic as solar powered small refrigeration units allowing transport of perishable goods or essential medicines over greater distances.

Venue and organisation

The Trinity Centre provided an excellent venue for networking, the seminars and catering. The overall organisation and timekeeping by Cambridge Network was unobtrusive - precisely because of its effectiveness.

Slideshow of meeting

A slideshow of delegates and speakers at the THINKindia meeting is viewable at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/miltoncontact/ThinkIndiaCambridgeNetworkEvent.
Photos by www.miltoncontact.com.

Conclusion

This was a well run, informative and interesting Cambridge Network Open Meeting where India was revealed as a nation of contrasts and opportunities. Underestimated by many, the rising Indian market for UK companies is ignored at our peril, for we will otherwise lose out to others who have recognised the opportunities it provides.

If we don’t start running now, we will never catch up with the speeding Indian Elephant.

Dr Chris Thomas,
Director Milton Contact Limited

Providing assistance to overeas SMEs wishing to enter the UK market; through market research research, finding contacts and accompanying you on UK visits.

Proud to be a Cambridge Ambassador.

It could only have been part of the plans by Bill Brogan (Conference and Catering Manager, St John’s College) and Kelly Vickers (Manager Conference Cambridge); the forty senior international and tourism related Cambridgeshire delegates arrived at St John’s College on a gloriously balmy May 8th evening to learn the three key elements of successfully hosting an international event at the college: venue, delegates and hosting

1. The venue.
Set in Cambridge’s old city centre and gently extending through fields and gardens across the river, the St John’s College provided a spread of architectural delights and surprises for the delegates as they toured the grounds; from the familiar facades and bridge to the Pythagoras building and the new library. The accommodation in a serene setting was complemented by the variety of rooms in different architectural styles, capable of seating small and larger groups.

2. Delegates
Careful planning had generated a panel of internationally active Cambridge members including Professor Alan Barrel (Judge Institute), Chris Parkhouse (Deyton Bell), Thak Patel (Think India) and Richard Wishart (Delivery Management). Walter Herriot (St Johns innovation Centre) as Question Master, led the panel to discuss topics as far ranging as longstanding links between Australia and Cambridge through the papers of Field Marshall Slim through to how Cambridge was perceived abroad from the cultural, educational to hi-tech facets. The audience too participated actively and a common theme of “blowing Cambridge’s Trumpet” as a prime international location emerged.

3. Hosting
The culmination of the evening followed the drinks reception when we retired to the 450 year old Wordsworth room, described by William Wordsworth in his evocative autobiographical poem now known as “The Prelude” (extract from Book III, Residence in Cambridge):

The Evangelist St. John my patron was:
Three Gothic courts are his, and in the first
Was my abiding-place, a nook obscure;
Right underneath, the College kitchens made
A humming sound, less tuneable than bees,
But hardly less industrious; with shrill notes
Of sharp command and scolding intermixed.
Near me hung Trinity's loquacious clock,
Who never let the quarters, night or day,
Slip by him unproclaimed, and told the hours
Twice over with a male and female voice.
Her pealing organ was my neighbour too;
And from my pillow, looking forth by light
Of moon or favouring stars, I could behold
The antechapel where the statue stood
Of Newton with his prism and silent face,
The marble index of a mind for ever
Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.

Now, the panelled room with its portraits provided a splendid backdrop to an exquisite international dinner, starting with Scallops Togarashi, via Gressingham Duck Supreme to Azuki Bean Mousse Cakes with Sesame See Ice Cream and accompanied by wines from India to Portugal. The private environment encouraged a relaxed discussion between neighbouring dinner guests to round off a memorable evening.

Summary

The combination of different experiences, delighting the eye, the intellect and the palate had been indelibly and positively imprinted on the delegates. When the question arises on future visits to distant lands, on where to host an international event, St John’s College will immediately spring to mind.

The 20 owner/managers of German dental laboratories discovered the benefits of personally visiting the British market and British Dental Association 2008 Exhibition in Manchester, exemplified by four key points.

1. How you describe yourself matters.

In a situation not unlike a rabbit sitting in the headlights, I found myself under the scrutiny of the German Dental Laboratory delegation as we began the day in the sumptuous surroundings of the Palace Hotel in Manchester. Any barriers were soon overcome as we tackled the all important features of how to introduce ourselves in a convincing and relaxed way. The challenge was to do this in 27 words or less, whilst getting our key memorable points across.

An immediate result was learning, that apparently natural transitions of words between two languages can mean a world of difference; whilst “Zahntechniker” is a respectable position in German, the translation to “Dental Technician” instinctively adopted was more appropriate to one of their assistants or trainees. Fortunately most were Owners, Managers or Directors of Dental Laboratories (or Dentists), providing a suitable alternative title.

2. Confident and proactive networking gets results

It is one thing to devise a pithy phrase, it is another to speak it sincerely; by practicing in groups we were able to iron out any stumbling points. Remembering four key questions to initiate a conversation - What do you do? What are you looking for at the exhibition? Do you have a business card? May I give you a leaflet/invitation to our stand? These gave everyone, even those with little or no English, sufficient confidence to enter the exhibition, approach total strangers and hold their own!

The delegates were soon putting their new found skills to good use at the BDA reception and exhibition stands they visited. British and German colleagues were exchanging views, techniques and experiences; from novel short implantation pins to veneers. I was very impressed when one of our, delegates met a group of British dentists who, after a short introduction with regards to telescopic (German Crown) work, responded in clear terms that they would never do things in such a complicated way! Keeping cool, he took out one of his samples and, as the discussion continued, gently brought his English counterpart to concede that there might be a valid use for the technology.

The unexpected consequence of newfound networking skills was some delegates actually entering Miss Manchester competition (though not as competitors!). This was taking place in the Palace hotel and the gate-crashing was justified with the cosmetic importance of good teeth. In fact, we had a temporary defection by two delegates to the Miss Manchester Dinner-gala, although to give them credit, they had unsuccessfully tried to get all of us invited! The rest of us made do that night in friendly conversation at a Mancunian/Chinese pub.

3. Attitudes and preferences are different in the UK market

Two visits to dental practices in Manchester had also been arranged by another colleague, Aura Green of Virtual Advantage. (Audra also ably supported Bernd Krey and his colleagues from the Handelskammer on the delegation’s stand at the exhibition). We therefore set off on an adventurous journey by hired taxi convoy - unofficial motto “If it’s not on the sat-nav, we can’t find it”.

Our first stop was Total Dental where we split into two teams for tours with the Practice Manager Linda McPherson and an informed talk by Dr Booth. He impressed with his foresight in building his fourth dental practice in an area about to be re-developed – in anticipation of future growth and raised the topic of the discerning UK patient – of which more below.

After another taxi ride, where three of us were initially left behind(!), we visited the Malthouse Dental Centre. Here Susie Laycock, Practice Manager described how referred patients visited independent specialists at the centre, who shared a common administration. Mr Greene, the Periodontist at the practice also related his experiences and took questions from the floor.

A common theme began to emerge, directly related to the UK’s division of dental provision into either NHS or private treatment. With dentists tending to the latter, it was essentially a free market economy with three immediate consequences. First, the paying patients were more informed and demanding of the services provided, educated by internet and magazine articles. Second, treatments had to be fast and effective – to give customer satisfaction and ensure dentist’s profitability. Third, in a demand economy and dearth of dentists, the market was priced considerably above that in Germany, where the insurance based system lead to a price ceiling. In Germany this was driving the dental sector to higher standards and the adoption of advanced techniques through market competition.

The delegates found the theme confirmed in conversations with dentists and exhibitors at the BDA exhibition. Indeed the free nature of the highly profitable market and tendency for efficiency in a commercial environment was a continual thread. This was in marked contrast to NHS dentists who could not provide the costly higher end services and seemed inspired more by social responsibility than earnings in an environment that appeared to work against them.

 

4. Customers need to know about the product if they are to use it

Our delegation then discovered the fourth key element affecting their potential market opportunity – know-how. UK dentistry was coming out of a period where training and development in the sector had been significantly undervalued. Now there was an emphasis on training and standards, and it must have been a shock to our delegation to find that only now was there a significant effort to ensure quality standards and responsibility in British dental laboratories, as related to us by Duncan Rudkin, Chief Executive and Registrar of the GDC. The GDC were pushing through registration, soon to be legally required by all dental technicians, as part of this process. In fact, due to the standards and training required in Germany, German dental laboratories could register with the GDC in the UK, with appropriate evidence of course, using a simplified procedure.

Ulrike Matthesius, Education, of the BDA also chatted informally with the German visitors to illustrate the BDA’s role with their membership base, the dentists.

The consequences of these factors and the difference between the UK and German markets were critical. What was taught and familiar in the UK did not include the details and practice of some of the high end methods routinely offered by the German dental system! The continual barrier our delegates encountered was limited or non-existent knowledge of the services they could provide.

The most significant of the four factors regarding possible market entry for German dental laboratories into the UK market was – if your customers do not know about your product – how can they demand your services?

Some might argue that prior paper or internet research could have revealed the information gained by the visiting delegation. However, most of the delegates came away with a real feel for how different the UK is culturally and dentally from their own experience and environment in Germany. They would not have won the practical insights to assess their strategies for UK market entry in depth without the direct experience.

Summary

The delegation of German Dental Laboratories experienced the benefits of a visit to the UK through four key factors, from introducing yourself appropriately, confident networking, learning about different national attitudes in the dental economy and the need for education of customers in order to generate demand. They also enjoyed themselves!

The success of the event was ensured by all the delegates, UK parties visited and the organisors Marie-Theres Lütje, International Trade Advisor, Chamber of Small Industries and Skilled Trades; Gabriele Roeder-Wolff Außenwirtschaftsberaterin/Kammerpartnerschaften, Handwerkskammer Dortmund; Bernd Krey, Cologne Chamber of Skilled Crafts and Small Industries; Mark Dodsworth, Director, Europartnerships; Audra Green, Director, Virtual Advantage; and Chris Thomas, Milton Contact Limited. The project was supported by Almut Schmitz – Head of International Affairs NRW International.

Call to Action

Where to now? There are two obvious routes to market entry for those German dental laboratories still interested in the UK; either become involved in education of the technologies so familiar to them or link up with UK partners already familiar with German practices such as German dentists active in the UK. Existing contacts in Germany and the UK are ready to help.

Contact Dr Chris Thomas of Milton Contact Ltd on +44 (0)1223 440024, e-mail chris@miltoncontact.com or by using the contact page on this site.

An illustrated PDF of this article is available for download at: http://www.miltoncontact.com/news01/German-Dental-Laboratories.pdf

The complete photo album accompanying this article can be found at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/miltoncontact/NRWManchesterDentalLaboratoriesMay08